SOCI 1001H Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Philip Zimbardo, Participant Observation, Dependent And Independent Variables
14 Jun 2018
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From Textbook Page 30-43
Research Methods:
• Research method: systematic plan for doing research
• Commonly used ones are experiments, surveys, participant observations, and
use of existing data
• Testing a Hypothesis, the experiment:
• Experiment: research method for investigating cause and effect under
highly controlled conditions
• Hypothesis: statement of a possible relationship between two or more
variables
• An experiment gathers information to reject or not reject hypothesis in 4
steps:
• State which variable is independent and which is dependent
• Measure initial value of dependent variable
• Expose dependent variable to independent variable
• Measure dependent variable again to see if change took place
• Stanford County Prison:
• Done by Philip Zimbardo in 1972
• Hypothesis was that once inside prison, even healthy people are likely to
engage in violence
• Used prison setting as independent variable, and violence as dependent
variable
• Made a fake prison with 24 men, half as guards, half as prisoners
• They acted out very quickly and the experiment had to be ended after a
week
• Asking Questions: Survey Research:
• Survey: research method in which subjects respond to a series of statements or
questions on a questionnaire or in an interview
• A survey targets a certain population
• Often a sample is used to represent a larger group
• Longitudinal Studies of Hidden Populations:
• Hidden populations:
• No known list of members of population
• Acknowledgement of belonging to the group is threatening
because membership involves fear of prosecution or of being
object of hate or scorn
• Members are distrustful of non-members
• In the Field: Participant Observation:
• Participant observation: research method in which investigators systematically
observe people while joining them in their routine activities
• Most researchers do not have a hypothesis at the start of field research
• Mostly qualitative data
• Using Available Data: Existing Sources:
• Use of existing sources: research method in which a researcher uses data
already collected by others
Putting it all Together: Ten Steps in Sociological Research:
• What is your topic?
• What have others already learned?
• What, exactly, are your questions?
• What will you need to carry out research?
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